The North Carolina Zen Center's Brooks Branch Sosen-Ji Zendo has evolved from a tent in the woods to a set of four buildings that host regular sittings and small retreats. With the addition of two final structures, a dining hall/dormitory and a larger meditation hall, the facility will become a fully functioning retreat center and residence for intensive practitioners; it will have multiple uses and potential income to insure its long-term financial stability.

Sandy Gentei Stewart, Abbot of the NC Zen Center, has guided this community of practice since the seventies. His students respect and love him for his compassion, precision, toughness, fairness, and humor. It has been Sandy's vision which has driven the evolution of the Center from its earliest phases to where it stands now, on the brink of completion.

Currently the architectural plans are finalized and a construction plan has been put in place. The site has been surveyed and initial permits have been acquired. A fund has been created for donations which has already had substantial contributions. However, we cannot begin construction until we hit a predetermined fund raising goal and have confidence we can raise the rest of the funds.

Our fundraising advisory board includes, along with Pulitzer Prize poet Gary Snyder; Rinzai Zen monk, poet, and internationally famed musician Leonard Cohen; Buddhist teacher, writer, and contributing editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Stephen Batchelor; Buddhist philosopher, researcher, and Smith College Professor Jay Garfield; Bill Porter, distinguished author, translator and interpreter of Chinese Taoist and Buddhist texts who publishes under the pen name Red Pine; YouthBuild USA founder and CEO Dorothy Stoneman; and Robert Epting, partner of Epting and Hackney law firm in Chapel Hill and long-time friend of Sandy and the Center.Our board of directors (see attached) is drawn from both the sangha and the surrounding community. The board, while respecting a tradition in which senior teachers make decisions related to practice, guides the Center to govern and manage itself democratically and to provide a safe atmosphere and leadership opportunities for all dedicated students.

We are seeking the financial resources to bring our vision to final fruition, with the construction of these last two buildings. We are soliciting donations from all sources, large or small, from corporations, foundations, and individuals.

For more information about our construction plans, our vision for the future, and how you can contribute, please follow the links below. You can also visit our "Support The Center" page to make a contribution. Also, please feel free to inquire further by contacting the Center directly by phone, letter or email.

It is only through the efforts of each successive generation of students, teachers and supporters that Rinzai Zen has survived as a path to realization as bright as lightning and plain as the full moon on a clear night.